I'm currently trying to prove a conjecture.
I know that the proof will have to consist of multiple sub-lemmas, and that I need to make at least one additional assumption in the conjecture for it to be even possibly true. (With the current assumptions i've proven it false).
I'm convinced that the conjecture is true if I make additional assumptions, because I have a number of special cases that satisfy it and they seem very clearly generalizable.
I've been working on different assumptions and different approaches to the problem, and I've generally made progress. But I'm now filled with lots of messy ideas and subresults and I don't have an overview of the problem.
But my question is not about this particular problem. My question is: what do you do when youre working on a problem where you know that you need to use extra assumptions and sub-results but you don't know which ones, and youre generally overwhelmed and uncertain about the possibilities?
I would ask an academic advisor or a knowledgeable friend to give me ideas or to check out my work.
Collaborating is a good virtue when your are overwhelmed and tired.